Assessor

Equalization board hearings will be held August 28th starting at 9:30 AM at the Izard County Annex Building. You must have contacted the Izard County Assessors Office for an Informal appeal in order to meet with the EQ board. If you have any questions please call our office at 870-368-3179 for our reappraisal office.

Have a blessed day!

When you are registering a NEW vehicle, or a new to you vehicle in the Assessor's Office, please bring in your Title, Bill of Sale, and your ID.

This is a new requirement for the revenue office.

If you are renewing boat tags or if you have a new boat you must have the following:

1. You must have a printed out pictureof the hull identification number OR

2. You must have a pencil tracing of the hull identification number. Take a piece of paper and a pencil and trace the hull identification number. The trace MUST BE LEGIBLE.

The Revenue office has to send either the picture or the tracing to Little Rock.

Our mission is to create equitable, timely and accurate property tax assessments to fund public services. We will strive to be a source of accurate and timely property information for local government and the community.

Our mission is to equitably and accurately assess all real and personal property in a professional and courteous manner that assures public confidence and funding for public services. As your elected official, I discharge my duties with fairness and integrity while upholding the laws of the state of Arkansas. We strive to be a source of accurate and timely property information for local government, schools and the community.

Property tax laws continually change and are frequently complicated, thus often requiring detailed explanations. Our doors are always open, come by and visit me or a member of my staff.

Respectfully,

Tammy Sanders

We have had some questions about the valuations in the Assessment year for 2017. We have contacted ACD & here is what we found:

ACD had a conference call with Price Digest and they explained in detail their new valuation and depreciation model. They receive sales reports from dealers, not unlike those you get from NADA & other publishers. There seems to be sufficient data to establish values for year models 2009 - 2016, along with limited information on 2017 models. Pre-2009 vehicles had very limited sales data & Price Digest chose to supplement market data with their statistical model. They demonstrated to us how the methodology they use now differs from previous years. The result was that many vehicles showed an increase in 2016 & 2017 values rather than a decrease as would be expected.

ACD has analyzed the database provided by Price Digest and identified those older models that had a value increase for 2017. Using that information we reviewed value increases by year & make & replaced approximately 31,000 increases with the original 2016 values. The remaining 4,500 older-vehicle values that did not increase from 2016 - 2017 remain unchanged.

Also, ACD has been made aware of significant decreases in the value of some new vehicles first assessed last year. The schedule values for used vehicles for assessment purposes are based on their wholesale price, while new vehicles not in the schedule are typically valued by purchase price.

For 2018, ACD intends to explore every option from examining new data providers to continuing use of Price Digest with better modification of older vehicle values.

Amendment 79 — why you should care about it?

Although they’ve been around for a few years, Amendment 79 to the Arkansas Constitution and a companion piece of legislation — Act 2284 of 2005 — still leaving some home buyers scratching they’re heads.

Here’s a word of advice — if you’re going to purchase a home in this state, you need to be aware of Amendment 79 and Act 2284 as those can work to increase how much property taxes you pay after purchasing a house.

In a nutshell, Amendment 79 states that the taxable assessed value of a property can’t increase more than 5 percent a year on primary residences and 10 percent for other properties. The amendment also freezes the taxable assessed value of primary residences for people over the age of 65 and disabled property owners.

Amendment 79 was modified and clarified by Act 2284, which removes the caps put in place by the amendment after the transfer of a property.

Here’s how that all works. Let’s say Sue is 65-years-old and the value of her home is appraised at $100,000. The taxable value of that home is $20,000 — 20 percent of the actual appraised value. Sue lives in an area where the property tax rate is 68 mills per dollar, so she pays $1,360 in property taxes every year (the $20,000 taxable value times 0.068 cents). As long as Sue’s home is her primary residence, the taxable value will remain $20,000.

Bear in mind that the taxable value will remain constant, but Sue could pay more if the millage rate in her area increases. If the rate goes to, say, 72 mills, then sue is looking at a property tax bill of $1,440 per year — the taxable value hasn’t increased, but the millage rate has.

At any rate, Sue decides to sell her home to Bill. She lists it for $110,000, which is the fair market value of the home. Keep in mind that the value of the home is not necessarily how much someone pays for it — if Bill buys it for $100,000 but the county says the home is worth $110,000 when the next appraisal cycle rolls around, he’ll still look at a taxable value equal to 20 percent of $110,000 ($22,000).

And that’s exactly what happens to Bill. He may pay his property taxes based on the appraised value of $100,000 that Sue enjoyed, but Act 2284 mandates that the caps put in place for the former owner will be removed at the next appraisal.

So, what’s Bill’s tax liability? Assuming the rate is still 68 mills, he’ll pay $1,496 per year — $136 more than Sue paid and, perhaps, what Bill thought his annual property tax bill would be in the absence of a millage increase. That might not seem like a lot, but what if the caps were removed and the value of the home went up to $120,000 or $130,000 in the next appraisal cycle? Bill would be looking at a tax rate that is considerably higher than what he may have expected — every $1,000 increase in taxable value would add another $68 to the annual property tax and that can add up quickly.

There is, of course, some relief for Bill — a $350 homestead exemption which is available to all Arkansas homeowners with it comes to their primary residences. That credit must be claimed at the local county assessor’s office, but they’ve proven adept over the years at publicizing its availability.

Still, never assume the property taxes paid yearly by the current homeowner on that house you’re looking to purchase is what you’ll pay.